Dr.

Both the AP and NC State discourage the use of “Dr.” as a title in front of someone’s name in most cases.

The exception is when a person holds one of the following degrees: doctor of dental surgery, doctor of medicine, doctor of optometry, doctor of osteopathic medicine, doctor of podiatric medicine or doctor of veterinary medicine. In those cases, use Dr. upon first reference as a formal title before the person’s name: Dr. Jonas Salk. Do not continue the use of Dr. in subsequent references after the first one.

Do not use Dr. before the names of people who hold other types of doctoral degrees. The preferred form in those instances is to state the person’s academic rank or staff position and field of expertise: Derek Ham, associate professor of graphic design, is an expert in virtual reality.